Carpentersville eager to start impound program

The lengthy delay in applying a Carpentersville measure that sets hefty fines for the return of impounded vehicles could have been reduced, village officials said Friday.

Officials on Thursday had said an administrative adjudication program was needed before the village could begin charging vehicle owners $250 to retrieve a seized car.

But village officials now say a hearing officer could have been hired to oversee appeal proceedings.

"There is no reason that we just can't hire a hearing officer to hear the impound tickets solely," Village Manager Craig Anderson said. "It would be much less costly than the administrative adjudication program."

But Anderson said that though the village could have begun collecting fees shortly after the ordinance was passed, it still would have taken some time to get going.

Still, Trustee Judy Sigwalt said it should not have taken almost eight months to get the program off the ground.

"If it took a few months we still would have been collecting fees," Sigwalt said. "I don't care if it is $1,000 or $100,000, it's revenue this village needs."

The village estimates provided earlier this year suggest the adjudication program would cost $23,000 to start up and more than $63,000 a year to maintain.

On the other hand, Trustee Paul Humpfer said a hearing officer would cost the village about $20,000, which the village has set aside.

"I am irritated that we haven't done anything with this ordinance," Humpfer said. "It was put in place for a reason and we need to begin enforcing this ordinance."

Humpfer said discussions regarding the administrative adjudication program and the impound ordinance were conducted at the same time, causing confusion among trustees and subsequent setbacks.

The lag also irks Village President Bill Sarto, who said the impound fees are a needed revenue source for the village.

"We have been talking about it for too long and it is time we did something with it," Sarto said. "I don't see what the delay has been. The way I understood it, we needed a hearing officer."

Under the ordinance, police are authorized to impound a vehicle if the driver is caught operating the vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or without a valid license or insurance.

Village trustees approved the measure in a 6-1 vote, with Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski dissenting.

More than 400 people protested at an August village board meeting, arguing the measure was another way to single out a portion of the village's population.

But supporters of the ordinance, which Sigwalt proposed, said the law would increase revenue and public safety.